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To run a successful hotel business, you must constantly predict and plan for the future with a well thought out strategy.
What trends will remain strong and what new ones will emerge? How will guests and their booking behaviour change? How risky or inventive can you be with your marketing tactics and subsequent guest experience?
These are all questions hoteliers need to ask and develop responses to so they can continue to operate profitable properties.
According to research from Deloitte and Doblin, and laid out in SiteMinder’s interactive quiz, hotels in the future will take on specific characteristics to change the shape of the typical hotel service and experience.
Here are five examples of how you could evolve and improve your future hotel business strategy…
1. Become a ‘Choreographer’
‘The Choreographer’ acts as a virtual concierge to oversee and optimise the logistics of a guests’ stay.
This hotel will be motivated by busy travellers, such as corporate guests or large families, who value convenience above all else. This hotel will try to redefine service by managing the entire travel experience in a painless manner to remove any stress from the guest.
For some people, travel is a necessary but thankless task. Commuting from place-to-place in different modes of transport to perform important tasks becomes tiring. As a result, they look for tools and solutions that make their time on the road much easier.
Hotels in the future will change the typical hotel service and experience
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2. Become a ‘Neighbour’
‘The Neighbour’ understands the importance and necessity of fitting in with the surrounding area and becoming one with its destination.
Your hotel will be driven by guests who are looking for a purposeful way to engage with the local area and experience the heart of the destination’s culture. Often guests find the spaces of a hotel generic and unappealing. It doesn’t seem like a place they want to hang out because it’s empty of the experiences they can find elsewhere in their destination. They want their hotel to be a welcoming extension of the exterior environment, further enriching the time they spend on their trip.
3. Become an ‘Architect’
‘The Architect’ will be a hotel that utilises the spaces inside and outside of a property to the benefit of all guests. It will pay particular attention to those who book for longer periods of time, visit frequently, or require flexibility.
‘The Architect’ recognises that many guests, such as business travellers, have specific and personalised needs. They want a hotel that adapts to where they need to be, and also to where they want to be. The feeling of being at home at the same time as being encouraged to explore is an ideal experience for guests. And when they have to work, they need a space that supports this mood too. ‘The Architect’ will design dynamic spaces that give travellers the opportunity to adopt whatever attitude they like throughout their stay.
4. Become a ‘Curator’
‘The Curator’ will be a hotel that places strong emphasis on integrating experiences into the hotel environment. It may implement its own ideas or engage with external partnerships to keep its hospitality fresh, deliver variety, and enable guests to try new things.
This hotel recognises many guests can be sensitive to certain hotel features that change their mood and mindset. This is why all guests need a variety of environments that support their desire to feel comfortable, engage in new lifestyles, socialise with new personalities, and also relax when they need to.
When guests visit a hotel, in most cases they want to suspend their reality and find a slightly different one to refresh, reinvigorate, or unwind.
5. Become a ‘Matchmaker’
‘The Matchmaker’ is an integrator of people and constructs its strategy around allowing guests to help create the culture of the brand, using the existing strengths of the hotel to foster relationships.
‘The Matchmaker’ is passionate about guests who are searching for meaningful interactions while they’re on the road. The hotel will work hard to facilitate personalised connections, socialising, and networking.
For travellers who are regularly on the road, a social life and personal relationships can sometimes take a backseat, exacting an emotional toll on the individual. Often they will seek out places they can find company, conversation, and inspiration to offset the drudgery of solo travel.
To find out which direction is the best way forward for your hotel take SiteMinder’s Interactive Quiz today.